Flowers

Ward, Vernon de Beauvoir.  1905-1985.  Born in Hampstead, the son of the artist picture dealer Albert Ward who encouraged him to copy Old Master pictures and this discipline led naturally to the study of the antique to which he partly devoted his years when studying at the Slade School (starting aged just fourteen) under Henry Tonks, Wilson Steer and Sir Charles Russell, and made many sketching tours to study birds and animals in their natural surroundings.  In addition he painted portraits, figures and flowers.  He was certainly extremely versatile, his subject matter ranging from the flower studies, for which he is perhaps best known, to pictures of ballet and Bomber Command.  Based in Hampstead, where he had been brought up, he exhibited his varied paintings at the Royal Society of British Artists and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters.  However, he achieved his greatest popularity with his works that were published as greetings cards and prints, about one hundred and eighty in all.